Weekly Science Picks

Kelly Burnes — Sun, 08 Sep 2013 07:43:48 +0000

Flying virus carrier. Photo credit: Jonathan H. Epstein/ EcoHealth Alliance

Well, it’s a new day in Australia with the election of Tony Abbott. It will be interesting to see what changes may be ahead for environmental laws and science.

But this is Weekly Science Picks and not a political roundup at the moment, so let’s get started on some of the fascinating stories in the world of science this week.

With H.I.V., SARS, and now MERS, a virus catalog seems like a good resource to have for future and potentially deadly epidemics.

A Catalog for All the World’s Viruses? by Carl Zimmer

In a new study published in the journal mBio, Dr. Anthony and his colleagues have taken an initial step toward such a catalog by exhaustively searching for all the viruses that infect a single species of mammal — a bat known as the Indian Flying Fox. They found 55 viruses, 50 of which are new to science.

If you had hopes of escaping planet Earth and heading to your lunar estate for some peace and quiet…well, you might need to think again.

Why we might not be able to live on the Moon by Philip Ball

A new paper in the journal Geophysical Research Letters drives another nail into the coffin of lunar living. It suggests that what was at first taken to be bright, reflective ice in the Shackleton crater is in fact more likely to be white rock.

An intriguing story about land, mining and the afterlife.

Inside the Battle Over a Strip-Mine Cemetery by Pat Walters

To your rear will be 40 graves—old men and women, small children, veterans of conflicts from the Civil War to World War II—surrounded by a white, split-rail fence and a thin ring of trees. Underfoot: approximately four billion dollars’ worth of coal.

To cap off this week’s edition, a story by Australian Science’s own, Danielle Spencer. What an incredible job to engage children in science and guide them on their journeys of exploration and discovery of the world around them! Take a look at Danielle’s latest post about teaching a unit on space to her students.

Where does the Sun Go at Night? by Danielle Spencer

Now other than being highly entertaining to read, identifying children’s misconceptions is an important part of science teaching. Whilst admittedly some of the above responses may have been guesses, the children were asked to provide their best reason. The responses included here are a sample of the wide variety provided by the children.

Cite this article:
Burnes K (2013-09-08 07:43:48). Weekly Science Picks. Australian Science. Retrieved: May 04, 2024, from http://australianscience.com.au/news/weekly-science-picks-45/

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The post Weekly Science Picks appeared first on Australian Science.

Weekly Science Picks

Kelly Burnes — Sun, 11 Aug 2013 10:05:14 +0000

The magenta exoplanet, Illustration courtesy S. Wiessinger, NASA, via BBC

What a week in the world of science! Let’s dive right in!

I’m currently re-reading the Ultimate ‘ Guide by Douglas Adams. This next story got me to thinking of custom designed planet building. What a lovely shade of pink!

Newly Discovered Pink Exoplanet on the Lighter Side by Jane J. Lee

In a new study announcing the magenta gas giant, researchers were able to directly image this exoplanet using the Subaru telescope on Hawaii. The color of this blushing body indicates it has less cloud cover than other observed exoplanets, meaning researchers can peer even deeper into its atmosphere to divine its components.

Anyone feeling hungry and a wee bit adventurous?

World’s first lab-grown burger is eaten in London by BBC News

The professor said the meat was made up of tens of billions of lab-grown cells. Asked when lab-grown burgers would reach the market, he said: “I think it will take a while. This is just to show we can do it.”

This next story highlights a growing global problem… teaching and STEM.

Science and maths teacher shortage may loom for England by Judith Burns

The government’s new School Direct scheme is recruiting too few trainee teachers in key subjects, says Oxford Brookes university’s Prof John Howson.

There is a mystery disease attacking the bottlenose dolphin population. It won’t be easy to pinpoint the source, but let’s hope some real progress is made soon.

Dolphin Deaths Off East Coast Worry Federal Officials by Michael Wines

Federal wildlife officials raised a formal alarm on Thursday over the deaths of scores of bottlenose dolphins in waters off the east coast, saying that a fast-spreading infection could be attacking dolphin populations from New York to Virginia.

Another fish tale… though this one may have leave a bad taste in the mouth with some viewers and readers.

Shark weak: the Discovery Channel’s famous week is sinking to tabloid tactics by Alan Yuhas

The Discovery Channel, which bills itself as the “#1 nonfiction media company” opened this year’s Shark Week with a fictional “documentary”.

I think this last “story” is a perfect capstone to this edition of Weekly Science Picks. Discovering new planets, investigating unusual mortality events in an animal population, even creating edible meat from stem cells; that’s all real science. And we need teachers to teach the subjects of maths and science to youngsters and to dispel these myths and sensationalism that media companies are hyping with outrageous headlines. It’s not just Discovery; the History Channel and National Geographic have departed from their traditional core programming, presumably to keep pace in the ratings race. And if that’s what viewers want more of, entertainment, well that’s one thing. But science should not be compromised at any cost.

Cite this article:
Burnes K (2013-08-11 10:05:14). Weekly Science Picks . Australian Science. Retrieved: May 04, 2024, from http://australianscience.com.au/news/weekly-science-picks-41/

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The post Weekly Science Picks appeared first on Australian Science.

science education – Australian Science

Weekly Science Picks

Weekly Science Picks